 ✔
| ||
|
This Hero was Headlined on July, 2021. | ||
  |
This article's content is marked as Mature Guts (Berserk) contains mature content that may include coarse language, sexual references, and/or graphic violent images which may be disturbing to some. Mature articles are recommended for those who are 18 years of age and older. If you are 18 years or older or are comfortable with graphic material, you are free to view this page. Otherwise, you should close this page and view another page. |
| “ | If you're always worried about crushing the ants beneath you... you won't be able to walk. | „ |
| ~ Guts |
| “ | I'm used to fighting to survive. But what grows worse daily is the pressure not to die. Have I ever before wielded a sword so heavy? | „ |
| ~ Guts |
| “ | My sword has gotten very dull. However, it's three times as thick and does three times the damage of a normal sword. You better pray you die quickly, or this could be painful. | „ |
| ~ Guts to a group of soldiers. |
Guts, famously known as The Black Swordsman, is the main protagonist of the Berserk franchise.
He is a former mercenary and legendary branded wanderer that travels the world in a constant internal struggle between exacting revenge on Griffith and the Godhand and protecting those dear to him.
At one time, driven solely by his will to survive during his days as a mercenary, Guts finds a purpose in life upon joining the Band of the Hawk after being defeated by its leader Griffith, greatly helping in the mercenary band's storied successes during the Hundred-Year War, as captain of the band's raiders.
In Japanese, he has been voiced by Nobutoshi Canna (who also voiced Knuckles the Echidna in the Sonic The Hedgehog franchise) and Hiroaki Iwanaga, the latter of which voices him currently. In English, he has been voiced by Marc Diraison in the 1997 anime and the animated movies, Michael Bell in Sword of Berserk, and Kaiji Tang in the 2017 anime.
Quick Answers
What is the significance of Guts' nickname, The Black Swordsman, in Berserk?
What are the challenges Guts faces as a fighter in Berserk?
How does Guts' fighting style evolve throughout the Berserk series?
What is Guts' height in the Berserk series?
Appearance[]
| “ | Screw you. I'm human, the real deal, right down to the bone. Don't mistake me for one of you freaks. | „ |
| ~ Guts to Emperor Ganishka after assuming him to be a apostle. |
Depicted as a tall, muscular man, Guts stand at 6'8" (204 cm) with short, though was likely shorter before the berserker armor, being 6'3, spiked, black hair in a crew cut. He is missing his left forearm and right eye due to an encounter with the God Hand and is covered head-to-toe in scars from a lifetime of battles, with the most notable being a lacerated scar on his nose he got from a sparring match with his abusive father Gambino. Also notable is a large, horizontal scar on his chest, which he received during his encounter with Slan of the God Hand in the qliphoth. After receiving the Berserker Armor, Guts receives a small fringe of white on his hair, presumably due to the stress brought on from wielding the armor. Guts' tendency to wear black clothing while hunting the apostles gained him the nickname "The Black Swordsman". Aside of all this, Guts has a brand as a result of the Eclipse on the back right side of his neck. This brand attracts demons and evil spirits to him at night.
Guts' original design, featured in Berserk: The Prototype, had him wearing an eye patch.
Personality[]
Guts can only be described as a pessimistic, hardened man who doesn't make friends easily and will kill hundreds and hundreds of foes with little remorse for them. Whatever sense of joy he once had was reduced to nothing by a life of endless violence, tragedy and misery. Despite that, Guts still harbors a strong sense of justice and compassion, willing to fight for what's right and scorning Griffith for having betrayed everyone he once loved to become a god-like being. Although once lacking direction in life, he eventually finds himself understanding his love for combat and devoting his life to fighting the strong.
After meeting and forming a travelling party called the Black Swordsman Party, Guts softened up considerably. He now has companions that he could care for, his feelings of friendship, companionship, camaraderie and trust restored. However, he still has a burning desire to take revenge on Griffith.
Powers and Abilities[]
Abilities[]
Because he is just a normal human, the strength to carry, much less to use and wield a sword of such magnitude with finesse and dexterity makes Guts a grandmaster swordsman of no ordinary level and skill, which shows up in every battle or duels that he partakes, especially when he is engaged with demonic beings. He is also skillful at using many bladed weapons, has knowledge on how the mechanism of complicated firearms work and is also an excellent equestrian. Despite his large frame he is very fast, dexterous and agile for a human of his size and stature which can be seen when he is engaged in combat with multiple enemies.
Guts has incredible strength and physical resistance, even though he is a regular man with no powers. Due to his extensive training since a very young age, his strength and endurance could be classified as superhuman. He is able to swing the large Dragonslayer with incredible speed, even with just one hand. He has also survived impacts that would kill a regular man, even with the protection of armor. He also has an incredible resistance to pain as shown when he cuts off his own arm trying to stop Griffith from raping Casca.
Guts is also able to come up with strategies very quickly and thanks to his experience in battle, he can realize very quickly the best way to fight, like when he used a sword with his feet to impale Zodd. Despite all of this, Guts' resistance to damage is not far away from a normal human's. He can be affected and hurt badly with normal weapons.
Guts' ferocity, fury, aggressiveness, and strength do much to conceal the cunning person within him. He is very perceptive, quick witted, clever, and a skilled strategist, all of it goes hand in hand with his strength. These are the major reasons of why he had survived the countless encounters that he so far had faced. A good example of his tactical prowess is his fight with the apostle Rosine.
During the fight Guts was severely outnumbered by Rosine's insect-like elf pseudoapostles but managed to kill them by lighting himself on fire when they got too close, then quickly dousing himself by slicing open the cocoons that were in the process of turning more children into pseudoapostles. Though not much of a talker, Guts are also shown to possess astute logical reasoning which can be seen in some of his conversations within the manga.
Equipment[]
Guts' signature weapon, the Dragonslayer.
As a youth, Guts lived in a mercenary camp where he was forced to learn to use full sized weapons. This and his natural physical size and strength enabled him to wield larger weapons than most. Throughout the Golden Age arc, he primarily uses a variety of large swords, along with various other weapons when necessary.
In the (chronologically) later arcs, Guts wields the Dragonslayer, a zweihander or two-handed sword about 7' long and 12" wide at its base. It is more than an inch thick at the middle of the blade, giving it incredible weight and power. Described in the manga as more of a table-sized slab of iron than a blade, the Dragonslayer's massive size makes it the ideal weapon for slaying apostles of the God Hand. After killing many apostles, the sword retains properties of the apostles' blood, making it more effective against them.
In addition to his blade, Guts' left forearm is prosthetic with a magnet to help grip weapons, a replacement for the one he lost when Griffith attempted to sacrifice him; it folds back to expose a hidden cannon within. Guts also carries throwing knives, miniature bombs, a dagger, and even a repeating crossbow that can be mounted onto his prosthetic arm. While not innately magical, Guts' sword, the Dragonslayer, was recently shown to have become a cursed blade after absorbing the evil within so many apostles slain by him; enabling it to kill creatures of a non-corporeal nature and even possibly kill, or at least, seriously injure members of the God Hand.
One of Guts' most powerful assets is the Berserker Armor, an ancient, cursed suit of armor that allows the wearer to overcome his physical and mental limitations in combat but at the cost of damaging his already-weakened body. In Guts' case, the armor of strengthens his mind issues (depicted in Guts' case as a quadruped canine creature), to take over and endanger everyone in the vicinity, friend or foe (hence, berserk). The Armor has deadly effects on its user.
After using the armor once, Guts lost some of his sense of taste, became slightly colorblind, and the stress of using it caused a patch of his hair to turn white, among other things. The armor can pierce his flesh from within to reinforce broken bones, enabling him to continue fighting long after his body to the point it would normally be exhausted.
Quotes[]
| “ | I've been fighting in battles for as long as I can remember. The mercenary leader who raised me taught me nothing except how to wield a sword. I've never had anything, except my sword. I don't want to die, for me that is the only reason I keep fighting. There is nothing to save myself for or give myself to. I fight because I know nothing else. Once I was willing to do just that, to commit myself to fighting, and let anyone else fight a reason for me. | „ |
| ~ Guts to Casca, discussing about dreams |
| “ | It's true what you say. Humans are weak, and we die easily. But no matter how weak we are, no matter how much we're tortured or trampled upon, no matter how much pain we feel, we still want to live. | „ |
| ~ Guts to The Snake Baron |
| “ | There's no paradise... for you to escape to. What you'll find... What's there... Is just... A battlefield. | „ |
| ~ Guts to Jill, testing her willpower |
| “ | DON'T PRAY! If you pray, your hands will close together. You won't be able to fight! | „ |
| ~ Guts to Farnese |
| “ | Even if we painstakingly piece together something lost, I guess... it doesn't mean it will be back to normal... | „ |
| ~ Guts after explaining to Schierke why he has a metal arm |
| “ | What's happening with this armor? The moment I donned it, the pain of my wounds vanished like it was an illusion. No. It simply doesn't bother me. Pain just doesn't matter anymore. | „ |
| ~ Guts' first thoughts after putting on the Berserker Armor |
| “ | Don't worry. I'm thinking straight. At least straight enough to know who not to bite. | „ |
| ~ Guts to Schierke |
Audio Samples[]
Themes[]
Hirasawa Sumusu - Guts[]
Shirō Sagisu - Blood and Guts[]
Trivia[]
- Guts, being a mercenary with a prosthetic arm, shares some similarities with the real-life german mercenary Götz von Berlichingen (lit. "Gotz of the Iron Hand"), with both even having similar-sounding names. This was a mere coincidence as Kentaro Miura stated in an interview that he only heard the story of Gotz after starting the manga.
- In the same interview, he also mentions that he wasn't thinking of any real person in particular when he created Guts, although he mentions he loosely based off his looks on that of the actor Rutger Hauer, having enjoyed his performance in Flesh and Blood and The Salute of the Jugger.
- In the Dark Horse translation of the manga, after receiving his mechanical arm, Guts comments on it as "groovy" in reference to Ash Williams' iconic catchphrase in The Evil Dead franchise, which he first uttered after creating his iconic chainsaw prosthetic hand in the series' third installment. The line was changed in the Deluxe edition, in favor of a more straightforward translation.
External Links[]
- Guts on the Berserk Wiki
- Guts on the Inconsistently Admirable Wiki
- Guts on the Magnificent Baddie Wiki
- Guts on the Wikipedia
[]
 Heroes
| ||
|
Black Swordsman Party Band of the Hawk Elves Mages Others Prototype | ||
 Heroes
| ||
|
Class Identities Horadrim The Angiris Council Followers Groups and Organizations Other heroes Guest Characters | ||
